What sociological concepts are depicted or can be used to describe what is happening? Explain how so and defend your analysis using course materials, readings, etc.

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Final sociological essay

Prompt: For this assignment, there are two parts.
Part I: Your sociological imagination. Define what “sociological imagination” is and describe how your sociological imagination has developed throughout this course. Consider how your viewpoints on topics we covered in class (race, gender, class, sexuality, social control, deviance, etc.) may have evolved now that you are equipped to view these topics through a sociological perspective. (2-3 pages). Feel free to reference any of the materials from class (films, etc.). It is critical that you REFLECT. Do not simply summarize course readings/materials. Apply these concepts organically!

Part I1: Application of your sociological imagination. You must find TWQ current events not discussed in class and analyze it using your sociological imagination. One must be an event/social issue here in the United States. The other must be an issue outside of the United States (for example, the protests in Hong Kong). What sociological concepts are depicted or can be used to describe what is happening? Explain how so and defend your analysis using course materials, readings, etc. (2 pages per current event). Once again this is not a summary of the event. rather an ANALYSIS of how sociological conceot apply. Be sure to cite any resources and course materials throughout using ASAOrAPA format. A cover page is required. You are not to turn in this paper until the submission portal for it is open. This will be due on December 10th at 11:55PM.

What does it take to win an election when you are minority? How do you organize your campaign? Why are community groups/organization important to campaigns?

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Running for public office

For this film review, you are to observe and discuss some of the same issues that we heard about running for public office. What does it take to win an election when you are minority? How do you organize your campaign? Why are community groups/organization important to campaigns? We have studied organizations that helped our minority communities advocate on their behalf.

 

The film “2 million minutes” compares the lives of high school students in US, India, and China. Using specific examples from the film discuss the ways in which students perceive and approach education and schooling? Describe key similarities and differences between these country’s education system.

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Discussion 1 and 2

ANSWER THE DISCUSSION BOARDS SEPARATELY

DISCUSSION 1
PART 1
The lecture and text discuss different perspectives for studying Comparative Education: 1) Modernization and Human Capital Perspective; 2) World Systems Theory; 3) Dependency Theory; 4) Reproduction and Resistance Theories; 5) Legitimation of Knowledge Perspective. Please select ONE of the theories and discuss how it describe and critique the relationship between Global North and Global South. Cite examples from text and lecture to support your answer.
READING UPLOADED
LECTURE UPLOADED

PART 2 (BRIEFLY RESPOND TO THE FOLLOWING STUDENTS DISCUSSION)
STUDENT 1
Modernization and human capital perspective was the center of comparative education theory in the 60’s and 70’s. During this time, countries were casting off colonialism. This theory emphasizes the important relationship between education and areas of economic growth and development. It is believed that this perspective can transform peoples believes, values and behaviors necessary for economic modernization. The modernization theory see’s education as helping the economy grow and be stable. This transition is done by incorporating students and workers into the economic system smoothy. In order for human capital to be developed, workers were seen by business leaders and governments as investments. This would suggest that investing in education increases individuals’ human capital which is good for the nation’s economic growth.
Global south children have do not have the privilege to receive proper education or education in general. These children must beg those who visit to help them get more education. Those children in global north want more freedom instead of having the burden of school. Those students in global north are lucky to have the opportunity to have an education and have options after they graduate. Since modernization and human capital perspectives pushes the theory that education increases economic growth, global north overeducates its students so they can increase their economy in the future. This is considered an investment to make their country better. This can have a negative effect on the students. They arrive at these universities abroad and return dissatisfied, alienated, and overeducated. They receive so much education that they can be overly qualified for available jobs and can often reject their own countries values. In the case of “Eric who had a sponsor and came to the United States for his studies; he received a bachelor’s degree in computer science and a master’s in business/information systems. After having difficulty finding a position in Ghana, he became part of the brain drain of young talent that is not returning to Ghana.” (Ballantine, Jeanne pg 498) Eric came to the United States to study, once he was done, he went back to Ghana. Back at home, he was not able to find a job and returned to the US.
Global south has a difficult time obtaining better education. Niger, Africa ranks almost at the bottom of the list of counties in the UN Human Development Report in 2015. These rankings are determined based on the country’s gross domestic product. “This includes employment rate, literacy rate, purchasing power, infant mortality, life expectancy, and other methods of human well-being. Other criteria such as standard of living are measured by available sanitation, drinking water, electricity, children in school, and malnourished individuals. Mere survival is a challenge, and formal education a rare luxury.” (Ballantine, Jeanne pg 500) Governments want a better economy, but do not invest in education in global south countries.

STUDENT 2
Comparative studies provide information on the uniqueness of educational systems using cross national data. It explores the education issues, trends and policies on a universal level. These studies also must take in account the environmental and societal issues that can cause an impact on education. Reproduction and Resistance theory states the elites who dominate the capital system determine how individuals would serve their purpose in society. The cultural values passed on shapes the view one has of the world. With this argument it suggests that everyone has a role or a part to play in society, the school curriculum creates a curriculum in order to keep people of certain socioeconomic backgrounds stuck in that same position. Upward mobility refers to an increase in social class and downward refers to indicates a lowering of one’s social class. social conditions can influence many aspects of socioeconomic status depending on the location as well. Social class influences social interactions and the socialization aspect. Location can play a part in the availability of resources, quality of jobs, and conditions of the school environment. Socioeconomic statuses contribute to the environment and vice versa. This theory also states that everyone is not always passive participants regarding teachers and students. Not every follows the route required to maintain in social reproduction.
Using this to critique the north and south. The difference is the way in which resources and the environment play a role in reproduction of social inequalities. Education works against or in favor of gender, social class, nationality, and ethnicity amongst other things. Education reflects the social world. In the book it brings up Ghana and its education system where it’s free for all but not many have access to schools or teachers. Only a small number of citizens can participate in education. As societal consequences make an impact which is a huge difference between the global north and global south. Children in other countries may have little time for schooling as well as their time is needed elsewhere. For example, household chores, babysitting. Even considering the commute or long distance in order to receive quality education can cause an impact on attendance rate. Another difference brought up in the book was in terms of resources. Poor resources are related to the growth of that country’s economy. Rural areas are less likely to have adequate resources failing to provide things like qualified teachers, designated school buildings and less parental support.

DISCUSSION 2 (ANSWER THE QUESTIONS SEPARATELY)
1) The film “2 million minutes” compares the lives of high school students in US, India, and China. Using specific examples from the film discuss the ways in which students perceive and approach education and schooling? Describe key similarities and differences between these country’s education system.

2) The film explores the notion that America is falling behind other emerging globally competitive countries like India and China. However, as we have learned throughout this course that education is embedded within a larger ecosystem with certain inputs and outputs where education serve a particular purpose within a specific context. Given what is discussed in the film, Do you agree with the stance that American education system is lagging behind other countries in India and China? Why? If not, why not? Use specific examples from the film/text/lecture.

VIDEO
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RJiYjbbvBB8hOWsvvIISJLFZW4luQd6_/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W7Y_-cYrldDzOwS8I7N_0qXF5Dep6x0O/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/10rbNaJQ0adOAdnkXVy86iJ9mqOK-UnjC/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LhBrlKq8H50sZu6XK0oYIHcouOLz8bz3/view?usp=sharing

In the analysis section of the paper, identify the sociological question that the episode addresses. Explain what information and data is essential to having a conversation about this issue. Discuss the solutions to the problem or the information needed to help better understand this issue.

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Sociology

STEP 1: Find a podcast with sociological themes and discussions. Listen to at least three episodes of the podcast and take notes as you listen. You may use this link to find sociological podcasts that are of interest to you, or you can use your own listening service to find an appropriate podcast. https://journals.sagepub.com/page/soc/podcasts

STEP 2: Choose one of the episodes with which to write your paper. The paper should be 2-3 pages and consist of a summary of the chosen episode that you listened to and how it relates to topics from our class. Tie in theories and key terms that we have learned throughout the course, using your textbook as a reference.

STEP 3: In the analysis section of the paper, identify the sociological question that the episode addresses. Explain what information and data is essential to having a conversation about this issue. Discuss the solutions to the problem or the information needed to help better understand this issue. Make assertions based on the information you learned from the podcast. What did you learn? What questions do you still have? In what way can we continue to improve society with this conversation?

STEP 4: Using APA format, be sure to include a list of references and in-text citations for your facts/statistics/and figures.

Explain which chapter in the book personally resonated with you the most? Why? Of the five lessons, which two lessons do you believe are the most important and why?

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Five Important Lessons of Sociology

A final list of the five most important sociological lessons [were constructed by students at a college]. They then went back into groups of two and each pair wrote a title and a description of one of the five lessons.

Here is what they came up with (in no particular order and with some minor editing):

1) Ever-Present Hierarchy

Stratification is always present in all aspects of society—from the micro to the macro. For example, in a micro-analysis one can look at the traditional classroom as the students are subject to the will of the teacher; however, in a macro-analysis social class is stratified by wealth and prestige. Society has historically been stratified and there has yet to be a completely un-stratified and equitable community.

2) Think like a Sociologist Using Critical Thinking

If you are thinking like a sociologist then everything you see can be studied with that mindset. Even topics like the environment, sports, education, films, and families, can all be looked at through a sociological lens. Thinking critically with a sociological imagination means asking questions and deconstructing social phenomena.

Thinking through a sociological perspective helps us to understand the situations of others and allows us to better understand the reason people are in the situations they are in. Concepts like oppression (discrimination), inequality (the haves and have nots in society), and intersectionality (a combinations of identities that are considered disadvantaged in a society because of laws, culture, economy, etc. such as being a woman, uneducated, a racial minority, poor, etc.) are realities in society that shape the lives of many. Acknowledging and understanding these concepts helps paint a picture of society and are essential in making a difference.

3) The Value of Theory and Research

Throughout any sociologist’s career, they will encounter many social phenomena (social problems) that have a direct impact on society. Research and theory help individuals have a better understanding of the world around them (i.e. who is more likely to commit suicide and why, and who is more likely to graduate from college and why, and which group is more likely to be racially profiled and why, and who is more likely to vote and why?). Many inequalities that exist in society have theories behind them explaining why things happen the way that they do. Research is essential in this understanding as it ensures that these theories are backed up and understood on a larger scale. Both theory and research share an equal importance in sociology as they go hand in hand.

4) We are Products of Our Environment

Decisions that seem to be products of individuals are largely products of larger social forces (like social class, race, gender, sexuality, religion, laws, culture, media, the economy and education). Individuals like to think they act on their own or because of natural instincts. However, societal influences usually determine our choices and actions. For example, individuals tend to stay in the same status as the households they grew up in. The status quo reinforces itself. The reason for this is because the individual’s life chances are often determined and shaped by the environment in which they live.

5) Social Movements: The Power of the People

In a society full of inequality, it is important for individuals to join together and access their interdependent power in the face of oppression (racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, ableism, Islamophobia, fat shaming, etc.). Individuals working as a collective have the capacity to create greater social change (for those who are oppressed or marginal). If individuals can take part in some type of small activism every day, they can create long-term improvements to their society. Collective action provides far greater potential for change rather than scattered groups.

REFLECTION PAPER BACKGROUND

You have been in this class for a few short weeks. You had a very brief overview of sociology, and how to use it as a tool to observe and explain human behavior, societal changes, and how those two intersect and influence one another.

In these few weeks, you have read and been examined on:

1) The sociological imagination and sociological perspective

2) Sociological research and how sociologists collect data to answer important questions about society and people

3) Culture – what is culture and how does it influence everything about what we do and become.

4) The social structure – what is the structure, how does it change and how do the changes shape people’s outcomes

5) Socialization – how do we learn culture, why do we learn culture, and what are the consequences of learning the culture we are surrounded by.

6) Social class and social stratification – how does how much money we have and how much money we don’t have shape almost EVERYTHING about how we interact with the culture we are in? What are the consequences of the social class we are born into and grow up in. Can we change our social class? Does everyone change their social class? How do we change our social class?

7) Race/ethnicity and gender/sexuality – these are identities that long created the haves and have-nots in society, and sociologists argue it is not because there is something inherently wrong with one race or another, or one gender or another. The inequality was reinforced and caused a sedimentation of privilege and disadvantage because of an oppressive social structure that included attitudes, principles, views, laws, practices and actions that valued some groups over others.

8) Social change and social movements (chapter 21) – social change happens, and it happens every day. Some social change is very positive, and some is very negative. All social change happens because of the actions of people, or the inactions of people. People are needed to make changes in society. So, society does not change us only. We change society, also. We are not rendered helpless by society. We are also empowered to be agents of change to make the society we wish to be part of. In small ways, or big ways, social change, has always been the product of people deciding and acting to change family, religion, schools, their political system, their culture (fashion, beliefs, music, art, etc.), cars, work, pollution, food, racism, immigration, technology, etc.

 

REFLECTION PAPER QUESTIONS/PROMPT (must answer all bullets below)

Explain which chapter in the book personally resonated with you the most? Why?

Of the five lessons (see them in blue above), which two lessons do you believe are the most important and why? Give two personal and/or other examples (from a movie or book you read) that illustrate or evidence your response

In the future, which lesson will be the most beneficial tool as an observer/analyzer of the society you live in. Explain your answer.

What sociological concepts are depicted or can be used to describe what is happening? Explain how so and defend your analysis using course materials, readings, etc.

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Final sociological essay

Prompt: For this assignment, there are two parts.
Part I: Your sociological imagination. Define what “sociological imagination” is and describe how your sociological imagination has developed throughout this course. Consider how your viewpoints on topics we covered in class (race, gender, class, sexuality, social control, deviance, etc.) may have evolved now that you are equipped to view these topics through a sociological perspective. (2-3 pages). Feel free to reference any of the materials from class (films, etc.). It is critical that you REFLECT. Do not simply summarize course readings/materials. Apply these concepts organically!

Part I1: Application of your sociological imagination. You must find TWQ current events not discussed in class and analyze it using your sociological imagination. One must be an event/social issue here in the United States. The other must be an issue outside of the United States (for example, the protests in Hong Kong). What sociological concepts are depicted or can be used to describe what is happening? Explain how so and defend your analysis using course materials, readings, etc. (2 pages per current event). Once again this is not a summary of the event. rather an ANALYSIS of how sociological conceot apply. Be sure to cite any resources and course materials throughout using ASAOrAPA format. A cover page is required. You are not to turn in this paper until the submission portal for it is open. This will be due on December 10th at 11:55PM.

List any ten (10) key terms from the key terms list provided from the chapters we cover – worth 10 points each.

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Movie assignment

Your movie assignment is an Expository (type of writing that purposes to explain, inform, or describe), It should not be longer than five (5) pages, written in paragraph form, with an introductory paragraph. This is a written assignment to test your writing skills and to comply with the Communication Component of you Learning Outcomes.

The report has to be double spaced and in a size 12 font with some type of simple easy to read script. Use any one of the six listed movie choices given as a basis:

List any ten (10) key terms from the key terms list provided from the chapters we cover – worth 10 points each. The key terms are provided in each chapter module in Canvas. Give the key term definition from the web page word for word. You all have the same reading assignments and access to the same online materials. Ensure the key term you use has the exact definition from the reading materials, WORD FOR WORD. Correctly correlate the term to a scene in the movie – if correlation is wrong, the term is wrong. You may use more than that one term per scene. If a scene in the movie illustrates numerous terms, feel free to include them all, as long as you comply with the three requirements above.

Use the header bar to either underline, italicize, or bold the terms and or definitions. Periodically students use a key term in routine usage and does not realize it is a term from the list. By emphasizing the key term and definition in some manner, I know it was not accidental and it is one of the terms.

Identify and describe a global public issue of your own choosing, explain how the public global issue affects the private lives of individuals two different nations or regions of the world.

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Global public issue

The final essay, the third discussion question, and the quiz on genocide are the last assignments for the course. The final essay will be due December 2nd. The assignment is as follows:

Throughout this course you have been presented with sociological perspectives and concepts applied to real world global situations and issues. You have seen how “public issue” aspects and features of globalization affect individuals’ “private” lives. It is now your turn to apply this knowledge by using sociological concepts to discuss how a “public issue” related to globalization affects individuals’ private lives.

In your essay, (1) identify and describe a global public issue of your own choosing, (2) explain how the public global issue affects the private lives of individuals two different nations or regions of the world, (3) identify which of the major sociological perspectives we learned about in class best applies to this situation, and (4) explain why this perspective best applies to the situation using key terms associated with the perspective.

 

How are gender and race similar and how are they different, in terms of how they impact equality in our society?

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Paper 13

Our society is gendered and raced. That is, both categories can work against equality for particular groups. How are gender and race similar and how are they different, in terms of how they impact equality in our society?

Discuss Synthetic Marijuana and Hallucinogens such as K2, Ecstasy, Molly. Discuss in terms of similarities and differences and the dangers as related to addiction and psychological distress.

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The Science of Addiction: Drug Use and Abuse

Discuss Synthetic Marijuana and Hallucinogens such as K2, Ecstasy, Molly. Discuss in terms of similarities and differences and the dangers as related to addiction and psychological distress. Your response should be submitted in an APA format with at least one reference to support your response.